Seven Year Itch
by NileyLover1992
Summary: Twelve Years after Miley drove off into the sunset with Nick, she finds herself in a loveless marriage. Can someone on a white horse in shining armour save her and give her what she wants the most? Can Miley finally get the happy ending she deserves? ON HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

**So this is continued on from YMMLY. Reviews are always welcome and I didn't really put a face to Ethan but I was kinda thinking Douglas Booth except older but you can put your own face to his description. **

"_You may now kiss the bride", the Pastor smiled as Ethan leant down to kiss me. This was the happiest day of my life. My wedding day. Marrying the man of my dreams, the love of my life. I'd waited two years to wear this dress, say vows and become his wife. Two long years to finally build a life with him and begin to start a family. _

"Auntie Miley, were you sleeping?", came the little voice of my first god-daughter. Isabella Rose Jonas. The dark-haired little girl with the biggest brown eyes that I've ever saw. A seven year old version of her mother with an attitude to match.

"Almost baby girl", I smile at her. She isn't my niece. I'd love if she was but she wasn't.

Her mother was my best friend since… I was younger than Bella. Demi was like my big sister. We did everything together, we'd been through everything together. School together, college together. We even work together. There are some differences though.

Demi had the perfect life. Huge house, a garden with a white picket fence and a family dog. Not to mention an adoring husband and three beautiful daughters and a fourth on the way. Our lives had changed so much since we were eighteen years old. I had travelled the world, I had been through the biggest break up of my life. We'd been to New York together. I had lived there while Demi and Joe got married, had babies and had a happy ever after.

Meanwhile…

I was stuck in a marriage with a man who worked all the time, a man who spent no time with me at all, a man who didn't pay me attention or even acted like I existed. We'd been married seven years but it felt a whole lot longer. We barely spoke to each other and we lived in a tiny apartment that didn't feel like a home. When I promised to love him forever I wasn't lying but sometimes, it just got so hard. Living in an apartment that I didn't want, I wanted a home. I wanted a place like Demi's, a golden retriever and children playing in the front yard but I had a husband who refused to give me a child. Or children, I'd have as many as I could handle. I love children.

That's basically the reason I became a teacher instead of a fashionista, I was obsessed with fashion as a teenager. I was obsessed with a lot of things when I was a teenager. _Like him._ But when I was twenty one, I went through a rough patch. I had a huge break up and decided to change my whole life. I changed my outlook on life. I grew up and decided to get a real job and it wasn't easy, the whole 'starting from scratch' thing was difficult but I had Ethan there to support me and make my life a little easier. He was my rock. I knew marriage wasn't easy but I wanted to spend my whole life with him. We've had our problems, like how he works all the time and my endless desire for a baby. He's been putting it off for five years. I'm over thirty years old now, I want a family. Is that too much to ask?

I love teaching. I teach because I love children. I get to teach children new things. Children are amazing, I just wish Ethan would see it like that. For five years I've been asking for a baby. I'm thirty one years old, I only have about another five years of a steady biological clock before my system starts to slow down. I always wanted lots of children. I thought Ethan did too. He'd always said he wanted at least three and here I am, seven years later. Miserable and childless.

It's not like I don't suggest it. It's not like I don't ask my husband if we could start looking at bigger houses in the suburbs where we could bring a child into the world. I do. But all I get is a workaholic looking at his computer or reading the newspaper, not even looking at me as he dismisses it. At the start we talked about it. Then he got a promotion and I had to start sacrificing more than what he ever has.

I'm not a selfish person, I never have been and I do love my husband, but being on the wrong side of thirty and still not having children while all my friends have two and three each is just so frustrating.

Why can't I just have one? All I want is one perfect little child that I can love and nurture and spoil. I don't want people to pity me when I tell them that I never had a child, I want people to smile with me as I tell them how smart my child is or how adorable my child can be but Ethan just won't let me have that. I want to experience pregnancy and childbirth and the sleepless nights, the dirty diapers and the teething. I want all that because I'll also get the first words, the cute little smiles, the unconditional love that I'll feel for that child and the love it would have for me in return. This isn't just me wanting to be loved, I am loved, I have a loving family and great friends but I want a baby that I can love and adore and show off to the world because it's amazing.

"Auntie Miley!", screams Abigail and Kaitlyn, Demi and Joe's twin four year olds. Miniature versions of their mother and their big sister.

"Hey. How was your nap?", I ask and Abby shrugs as Katy smiles brightly at me.

"Okay girls, go watch Dora please, mommy and auntie Miley are gonna talk girl talk and I'll call you for dinner",

"But I'm a girl", Bella states as Demi and I just look at each other with incredulous looks on our faces.

"Big girl talk", Demi smiles and Bella frowns before she and the twins run into the living room.

"Do you have any idea how much I'm jealous of you?", I ask and she looks at me weirdly, slowly eating some grapes as her pregnant belly sat snuggly under her tank top.

"Why?",

"You have like, the best kids ever",

"Ethan still not giving in?", she asks quietly and I shake my head.

Even Demi knows how frustrated I am. She knows that I've longed for a baby, she knew how miserable I was and Ethan didn't. How does that even work? I'm married to the man and he hasn't asked or considered what I'm feeling. He shakes off baby talk like I'm asking him about taxes. I'm miserable. I want a child.

"It's getting to the point now that I just want a baby and I don't even care who the father is. Is that wrong?",

"Morally? yes. But it's just how you feel, you can't help that. Miles, Ethan knew you wanted kids before you guys got married, I'm as frustrated as you are as to why he won't give you a baby",

"I know. But how long am I meant to keep sacrificing my happiness for his job? I've already waited for seven years for a baby and I don't think it's gonna happen soon. It's seven years too long. I think maybe Ethan and I need to see a councillor or someone to advise us on what's best because if I keep being this unhappy, I'm not going to want to be with him",

"If he doesn't make you happy then why are you with him?", she asks while lifting a tub of ice cream

Demi and her cravings. She could eat a horse and still be hungry but whenever she gives birth her figure goes back to what it was before. I bet if I fell pregnant I'd end up looking like a tub of lard afterwards.

"Because I vowed to be his wife. I don't take those vows lightly Demi, you know that. I just want us to be normal and we're not. We're not happily married like you and Joe. We're not living the amazing married life we thought we would", I almost cry into my coffee.

"Maybe it's just a rut", she suggests

"No, it's just me being a walk over and him taking advantage",

"Maybe you should talk to him about it",

"Yeah me too. I don't know what good it will do because I know his answer will be grunt, snort, "NO!", snort, chuckle and grunt. How am I meant to communicate with that?",

"So don't. Just leave. Pack your stuff and move in here",

"No Demi. That's the easy way out and I'd rather work this out with Ethan than just walk away from seven years of marriage".

"Miley, you are miserable, you have to do something. I hate seeing you like this and it's happening more and more often these days",

"I know, I'll talk to him tonight. I will have that argument, I don't care how tired or how annoyed he is. I just hope he doesn't act weird like he has been lately", I groan.

"How so?"

"I don't know, he's really secretive and it feels like he has no time for me",

"So why are you still there?",

"I've told you already!",

"Miley, don't get me wrong, I like Ethan, he's your husband and if you love him that's fine but he's done nothing for two years except make you miserable",

"Sometimes I wonder why I married him so quickly. Five months is not long enough to be engaged. Maybe we shouldn't have rushed like we did",

"Can't change it now", she points out.

"I know",

"Nick would have given you a baby by now", she mumbles thoughtfully

"That's a little inappropriate Demi", I scoff as she looks at me like it just slipped out of her mouth.

"I'm sorry, it just slipped. It's true though. Nick wanted a family with you. Nick wanted to give you the world",

"Yeah and where was he when I needed him?",

"He was out trying to make a life for himself Miley. It's not his fault that New York wasn't for him. But he lived there for eight months for you",

"That didn't mean he had to go the whole way to Australia to go to school",

"Well I'm not here to defend him. Australia obviously did something good for him if he's successful",

"No, Nick was always destined to be successful. It's in his blood. How is he?", I ask out of curiosity.

It's been at least two years since I've saw Nick. Last I heard he was living in Barcelona with some supermodel girlfriend and living the millionaire's dream. Apparently art was important to Nick too. I knew this and I knew he was interested in architecture but he's done very well for himself. Turns out, he was so good that Prince William asked him personally to build a house for him and word got out and Nick became popular for billionaires and other businessmen and Nick quickly earned a fortune.

"He's good, he called last week, he's coming home for the summer in a few weeks",

"Still dating that supermodel girl?",

"No, he was never dating her, she was a distraction",

"Distraction? From what?", I ask curiously

"Guess", she frowns and I shrug.

"After Nick heard that you were married, he kinda… maybe, developed a drink problem", she mumbles

"What?",

"You heard me",

"Why didn't you tell me this before?", I ask

"I didn't think you'd want to know. I didn't think he wanted you to know. It was five years ago at least Miley, it's no big deal now", she explains as we hear Joe's car pulling into the driveway.

"Hey Miles, how's the depression?" he asks as he comes through the door.

"You told him?", I ask Demi and she shakes her head.

"Told me what?", asks Joe looking back and forth between Demi and I.

"About my misery", I sulk

"No, you just never have a smile on your face these days. Still no baby?", he asks sympathetically and I shake my head.

"I feel like such a child running to you guys about my problems but you guys are the only people that will listen", I grumble as Joe hugs me gently.

"We're always here when you need us Miles", mumbles Joe and I sulk even more.

"Demi, why did you have to find the perfect man and I ended up with Scrooge?", I joke and she shrugs and looks adoringly at Joe.

"Guess I'm just a lucky girl", she smiles as Joe kisses her forehead.

"Where are my girls?", Joe asks her as she points to the living room and walks in to see his daughters. He's a really good father… and husband, and friend.

"Well I guess I should go. Thank you for listening to me whinge. You're an amazing friend", I smile at Demi as I get up from the breakfast bar and hug her.

She hugs me back and I go and say goodbye to the girls before I get in my car and drive back to my apartment. My empty apartment, Ethan won't be home for another three hours. Twelve hour days at work never leave him in a good mood. I guess when I suggest we talk later that I should tread carefully. He has a very short temper. Only ever with me though. He always gets angry with me. I always stay out of his way when he's like that, after _last time_ I think it's a good idea.

**What do you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Thank you for the reviews, they cheered me up! Hope you like this, and also... review? :D**

"Miley?", calls Ethan as he comes through the door. He sounds tired and worn out. Maybe I shouldn't bring up the baby thing. I've waited for over five years, what's one more day?

"Yeah?", I call from the bathroom.

A bubble bath was just what I needed to relieve the tension. I walk out of the bathroom in my red silk robe and find him in the kitchen, our tiny apartment kitchen. Not a huge white marble kitchen like I've dreamed of. He's holding a pizza and has a goofy grin on his face, he looks too happy to sound tired.

"I thought we could have pizza instead of all your healthy stuff", he smiles and I frown. All my healthy stuff? What's wrong with the healthy stuff I make? It's not that bad. I didn't know he didn't like it. He knows I don't eat pizza. You'd think after nine years of being together that he'd understand that I'm vegetarian... and a health freak for that matter. It's just who I am. It was enough for him at one point.

"You don't like the healthy stuff?", I ask as I walk past him and his pizza to make a salad.

"You know I don't. That's why I bought pizza", he grins and I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Well enjoy your pizza",

"You aren't having any?",

"Who are you and what have you done with my husband? You know I don't eat pizza, carbs or bread", I complain as he looks at me as if I've just told him that I have six feet.

"Oh that's right. Sorry babe, I totally forgot", he breathes out.

"How can you forget? I've never ate pizza for as long as you've known me. Are you feeling okay?", I ask and he looks nervous before nodding his head.

"Something happen at work?", I question and he shakes his head and lifts his pizza and sits down on the couch.

Our tiny blue couch. Not the huge black leather one I wanted. In a house that I wanted. A home. Ethan always over-rules me when it comes to decision making. Always telling me his ideas are better and everytime he's over-ruled me it knocks my confidence each time. So we ended up with a tiny blue couch. The one my unattentive husband has flopped himself onto. On the couch in front on the television, where I always find him when he's not working. What has happened to us? We used to spend all of our time together. Now we barely have a conversation these days.

I finish making my salad before sitting down at the breakfast bar and open my laptop. I like to online shop when I have the time, it's so much easier. I open my online banking account to check how much I have to spend this month, I've been putting away extra money to put towards a house... _Or a baby._ I haven't told Ethan yet, at least when the suggestion comes back up again then I have money saved so he can't have any excuses against me. He tried that one before. Is this manipulation? Begging my husband to have a baby with me. How pathetic am I?

I check my own account and everything seems fine before checking our joint account and things don't seem to add up. We're meant to have at least $12,000 more than what we should have in that account. What does he need $12,000 for? I didn't take it, Ethan is clearly spending our money without me knowing. I look up at him and he's laughing at something on TV. What could he be spending our money on?

"Babe?", I call to him

"Yeah?", he asks without even turning around.

"Can we talk?", I ask hoping he pays me some attention while we have this conversation. Wishful thinking.

"But The Simpson's is on", he groans and I shake my head. Oh right, how dumb of me to ask for a conversation from you while Homer Simpson is on television being a useless husband.

Irony.

"Well, it's important so when you can drag yourself away from the TV, I would appreciate it", I call.

I'm disgusted. Where is our money? What has he spent $12,000 on? It was taken out at the bank because the statement says so. Taken out all at once. What if it's something terrible, like a gambling problem? No, it couldn't be. He doesn't have time to gamble, he works constantly. Maybe he's bought me something expensive to make up for being useless these last few months... No that won't be it either. I'm a good wife but I'm not that good. What if he's got us into debt or he has given it to someone without me knowing?

"What's wrong?", he asks coming over to hug me from behind.

"Can you explain this?", I ask pointing to the screen and his face drops.

"I didn't think you'd notice", he says quietly

"Didn't think I'd notice? How could I not? It's twelve thousand dollars, where is our money?", I ask turning to him.

"I lent it to my brother as a loan, he said he'd pay us back", he explains and I look at him suspiciously.

"You lent twelve thousand dollars to Dylan? And when does he plan on paying us back? That's our money not just yours",

"I know, he said it's short term. About a month. It's no big deal",

"Ethan, this isn't just five hundred dollars or even a thousand dollars, this is twelve thousand dollars. What the hell does he need that kind of money for anyway?",

"I don't know, I didn't ask too many questions. He said he'll give us the money back and I believe him. What's that other tab open?", he asks looking at the screen as he scrolls to the other tab. My account.

"Why have you five thousand dollars saved in a different account?", he asks and I turn to look at the screen.

"I'm saving it",

"For what? We have our joint account for saving",

"Just incase we decide to move out or redecorate or... have a baby", I mumble and he looks at me dubiously.

"Miley, are you ever going to let that go? We're happy together here. This is our home. We don't need to move",

"We can't raise a baby in a fifth floor apartment, Ethan",

"We're not going to",

"So? We're going to move?",

"No, we're not going to have a baby", he says frankly.

"But I want a baby. You know this. Why not? Why won't you give me a baby? That's the only thing I want. I want us to be a family. Don't you want us to have a baby?", I say almost crying. Why does he do this to me? Why can't he just give me the one thing I want? I want to have a baby with him and he just doesn't want to do that for me. His wife.

"No I al... Miley I'm sick of this argument. I can't... Why can't it just be you and I?",

"Why do you make me feel like I'm wrong for wanting a baby? Do you expect me to be childless for the rest of my life? I can't be childless Ethan. I want to be a mother so much and you just won't give that to me. You make me feel like I'm the selfish one for wanting a baby but you're the selfish one. Your career comes before me and it comes before our marriage. Sometimes I wonder how we've lasted so long. We want completely different things", I cry to him and he looks upset at the start and then he looks angry.

"How dare you? I work constantly so that we can have this cushy little life, so you can go shopping to buy yourself nice things and do what a wife is suppose to do. You're so stubborn and you're still so ungrateful about everything I do for you. Don't you understand that this is all for you?", he snarls.

"Well none of this is what I want. If you'd listen to me then you'd know what I want. It's not fair on me if I'm the one doing all the sacrificing",

"You don't do all the sacrificing. Don't forget Miley, if it wasn't for me you'd be dead so don't start whining in my ear about how you're unhappy", he barks and I actually have to take a step back from him because he's so close to my face.

"You can't bring that up everytime we have an argument just for you to feel like you own me. Maybe I should've just died then. Because you haven't made me any happier. If you won't give me a baby then we have some serious working out to do because I can't go on like this. I'm miserable an...", I cry but shoves past me as he walks away from me and out the front door, slamming it on his way out.

I'm a considerable amount of weight lighter than him so I stumble to the ground, smacking my face against the wooden floor and watch him leave. I lift my body up but hang my head as the tears flow down my face. Why is my life like this? Did I do something terrible and now this is karma? I lift my handbag and find my way back to my car. I need out of that apartment. That apartment just suffocates me and that's the last thing I want to feel alongside the banging headache that I have.

Ethan does that a lot, gives me a headache. And then he walks out. He comes back after getting drunk. A few times he didn't come home until the next day. It's a vicious circle that we have. He can't stay and finish the argument, he leaves and then nothing gets resolved. He's never hit me. He threatened to many times but he never has. That's why he scares me when he screams, he has a terrifying temper and I get scared that maybe one of these days he will hit me. I shouldn't be like that. I shouldn't be scared of my husband. I shouldn't live in fear of the man I live with, the man I married. But then, why would I want to bring a child into that?

Why can't my life be easy?

Why couldn't I have just fell in love, got married and had babies. Normal marriage problems I can deal with, I learned to expect them but I can't deal with _this_. I can't have a marriage that I hate, a husband that I hate and a marriage that I feel trapped in. What kind of life is that?

I pull up to Demi's house, grateful that she's still awake. Demi's an earlybird these days. Being pregnant and a mother of young children she's normally in bed around nine. I walk on into her house and search the kitchen for her, she spends a lot of her time in the kitchen. There's a couch in her kitchen so most visitors just sit there and the kids have the living room as a play/TV room.

"Demi, I need to talk to...", I sob as the tears still flow down my cheeks but I'm halted as she and Joe turn around to see me.

And _Nick._

He's home.

He's here.

**I love this story. **

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	3. Chapter 3

**Feel lucky, you guys are getting a lot more in this chapter than what I expected! **

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I feel like I haven't saw him for so long. He looks at me, denim shorts and a tank top with make-up down my face. My hair is all over the place and I'm almost sure I have a bruise on my face from where I landed on the hardwood floor. I'm sure I look terrible. And he looks...concerned?

Concerned about me?

He always was really sensitive.

He looks good. Really good. A little haircut and a bit more built, he works out. He always has but it definitely shows. He's standing there in a white t-shirt and washed-out baggy jeans and a pair of white converse. He looks younger than he should but then again, he just looks like he did at nineteen.

All three just gaze at me as Demi's face looks angry.

"What the fuck happened to your face?", she asks and I just shrug and walk over to hug her. She comforts me and strokes my hair.

"Miles, what happened?", asks Joe as he pulls me to him. I sob even more as he hugs me into him and feel myself get shaky as Joe steadies me on a stool at the breakfast bar.

"Miley did he hit you?", Demi asks me and because I can't get any words out I just shake my head rapidly.

He didn't hit me. Maybe it would be better if he did. The emotional pain is worse than any physical pain. I feel like he's just stabbed me with a knife and now he's twisting around my insides.

"N...No, he knocked me over and I f...fell", I sob as Joe just looks at me.

"So he pushed you?", he asks and I shake my head. It's not like that.

Demi ushers me into the living room and I'm still shook up. She shushes me until I'm laying down on her couch and strokes my hair. Demi and her motherly instincts. I should have those too. I slowly close my eyes as her soothing puts me to sleep.

I twist and turn in my sleep as I relive the feeling of last night, the emotional turmoil that Ethan has put me through. It's so heartbreaking that it wakes me up and it's now around 3am and I'm on their couch like a homeless person. _If I keep acting like a bitch with Ethan I WILL be a homeless person._ A homeless, divorced person. Still childless and miserable.

I get up and find my way to the kitchen but the light's already on. Nick's at the breakfast bar, drinking coffee. Who drinks coffee at 3am?

"Hey", I call to him as I walk over to the sink and pour myself a glass of water.

"Hi", he says quietly and now it's awkward.

"How have you been?", I ask after thirty seconds, trying to start small talk is probably the best idea. This awkwardness is killing me.

"Great, it's great to see you. Even under the circumstances", he says looking at me pointedly.

"Yeah it's great to see you too. It feels like forever since we've even spoke to each other",

"Break-ups can do that to some people", he says quietly

"Was that a dig at me?",

"No I was just stating the obvious",

"When did you become a prick?", I ask

"I was just stating a fact, there's no need to start an argument", he says sternly and I close my mouth before I even get another word out.

He's right, there's no need for an argument. We're not a couple anymore and it's clear that we're not friends. _He promised to be BFF's,_ my mind rambles and I laugh. That was over ten years ago. He was more than a 'BFF', he was like my soulmate. We were inseperable.

"I missed arguing with you a little", I admit quietly and he smirks.

"Yeah, me too. It drove me crazy for three years but I missed it too", he chuckles and my heart is in my throat.

This man, this beautiful, perfect man is my first love. My first love that I gave my virginity to and counted as a best friend for three perfect years. Okay, so it wasn't all perfect but none of it I would change, except maybe the break up. But I wouldnt change the break up I would just make sure it never happened at all. He's also the first love that used to drive me crazy but I couldn't resist him and he always had the cutest sleeping face. Sometimes during my arguments with Ethan I wish that Nick and I hadn't broke up. Nick and I would argue a lot as teenagers but he knew me so well that he knew how to find his way back in and as annoying as that is, it also worked.

I can still remember that day. The day Nick and I broke up for good. We'd just got back from backpacking across Europe. I'd finally let him decide on where we would go for our Summer abroad and he'd chose that. It was actually pretty fun. I'd chose to tour Europe the year before to tour all the music festivals, it was a huge bonding thing for Nick and I. Even more than we already were bonded, isn't that weird?

Then that early August morning he announced that he wanted to go back to Australia to study. We'd been to Australia when we'd travelled the world together and don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful country but my heart was in New York at that time. Nick didn't want to hold me back and I didn't want to hold him back, so we separated. We didn't end on bad terms. In fact we both just cried in each other's arms before he left. We'd been together for almost four years and it's not like it felt that it was four years wasted, it really didn't because those were the greatest four years of my life but it just felt weird that it had come to an end. It took a while to adjust.

Then four months later I met Ethan. We didn't get together right away. It took almost three months for me to go on a date with him. But he seemed like a nice, sweet guy and now he's like a totally different person. He's not Nick and even though I married Ethan, he will never make me feel how Nick made me feel. I think it's because Nick and I felt unfinished. Ethan was like my rebound guy, but I ended up marrying him. There's a lot of regret there.

"I'm sorry about everything Miles...", he says quietly and I shush him.

"There's no need to apologize Nick. Whatever happened, happened and we can't change it. If we'd stayed together we probably wouldn't have the lives we have now", I point out.

"Oh you mean, me having all this money, the girls, shallow vain girls who don't care about me. And you, in a marriage that you're obviously trying so hard to save but your husband doesn't care?",

"When you put it like that, we're almost perfect for each other", I laugh nervously as he bites his lip thinking about it before nodding.

"I don't know what your husband is thinking about. If you were still mine I would do everything I could to make you happy. You deserve so much more Miley, I just wish you could see it" he whispers as he stands up and stops in front of me, stroking my cheek and tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His face is just centimeters from my face, I can almost taste his cologne and I can feel his heartbeat. _Nick, please don't do this!_

"But I'm not yours anymore. Sometimes I wish I was but I'm not and I can't be getting close to you. I'm a married woman, Nick!", I breathe out and he lowers his head.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just... Seeing you again and you being so hurt and vulnerable and... I'm sorry, that sounds even worse of me. I don't want to take advantage of your vulnerablility. I just lost control there for a second", he apologizes and I nod my head.

We're only a short distance from each other now and I just want to kiss him. But it's wrong. We both understand that it's wrong, no matter how much we want it or how we're feeling. _Kiss me._ My mind urges him to kiss me, my soul wants it. _My heart needs it._ I lift my head up and grasp his lips in mine. He immediately kisses me back and I wrap my arms around his shoulders as he deepens the kiss. This is wrong. So wrong. But it feels so right. It feels like I'm twenty years old again and Nick and I are living the happiest three years of our lives.

"Nick, this is wrong. We should stop. I'm sorry", I say pulling away from him. As much as I wanted that. I know that the guilt will be too much for me to handle.

"You're right. I'm sorry", he gasps as we both try to catch our breath.

Our foreheads and resting against one another and our hands cupping each other's face. Our breathing calms down but before we can pull away from each other, he kisses me again. And although I know I should pull away and stop this, I can't. I kiss him back. Harder than before. Our tongues wrestling with each other as he lifts me up and places me on the breakfast bar. I lean down to kiss him again as he pulls my tank top off my body. This is going too far. I know that but I can't stop myself. His hands are caressing me as his teeth skim across my bottom lip.

"Are you sure about this?", he breathes as he fumbles with my bra strap.

"No", I gasp as I lean down to kiss him again.

"What should we do?", he asks panicked.

"Don't stop", I mumble as he leans back up to kiss me and climbs on the breakfast bar on top of me.

I open my eyes and the sun is blinding me. The bed beside me is empty, Nick's gone. I lift my head quickly to examine the room but that damn September sunshine has me blinded. I get up from the bed, the bed I shared with Nick last night, I only fell asleep two hours ago. After being together in the kitchen, he carried me up here and I wouldn't let him sleep so he held me while I told him everything about my disaster of a marriage. He must have left after I fell asleep.

I glance over to the mirror and Demi has fresh clothes hanging up for me. Bless her, she thinks of everything. She used to do this when I used to come home in New York drunk, she'd put me to bed and leave me coffee and aspirin on my nightstand for when I woke up. She always looked after me. I get up and walk into the en suite bathroom to shower and change before running downstairs for breakfast. Bella and Abby are sitting at the table and Joe's showing Katy how to make an animal from a napkin or something.

"And how are you feeling?", asks Joe looking up at me.

"Fine", I mumble as Joe smiles at me.

"Demi made you some breakfast", Joe says casually as I notice Nick out on the patio, completely and unintentionally ignoring Joe just so I can stare at the man that ravished me last night. I'm still trying to work out if it's a good thing or a bad thing. I never told him to stop though and it did feel amazing.

He's on the phone. His arms flexed while holding the phone to his ear. Wow, those arms. I remember those arms. Last night those arms held me as I tried to stand with shaky legs. Those arms held me as I bitched about my life and he just lay there, completely silent and listening to everything I had to say. He's definitely changed since we were twenty one, but he's still the same too. He has a few more tattoo's than he had before Australia. He has a sleeve of tattoos on his arm. It looks pretty bad-ass if I'm honest. So much for Nick being against tattoos.

"...Miley?...Earth to Miles!", Joe calls as I come out of my daydream.

"Yeah?",

"Would you like to stop staring at my brother, you have a ring on your finger", he laughs and I slap him on the arm. That's a ridiculous accusation. Completely true but ridiculous. I could stare at Nick for the rest of my life.

"I was not staring. I was inspecting", I chirp and he laughs incredulously.

I have to remember that Joe and Demi can normally read me like a book. If I act weird around Nick then they'll know something has happened and while generally I don't care if they know, I would still feel horrible because of Ethan. I betrayed him. I cheated on Ethan with my first love. _My only love._ I have to act like it never happened at all.

"Well, when you've finally lifted your jaw from the floor, you and Demi have an busy day ahead. Nick and I are taking the girls to the zoo, you guys can either join us or you can go pamper yourselves", he says as Nick joins us from outside.

He smiles gently at me and I smile back.

"Demi has the life of it, huh?", I laugh and Joe nods. Just then Demi walks through the door from the downstairs bathroom, looking stressed. I can't imagine why.

"I swear this baby thinks my bladder is a trampoline", she groans.

Being eight months pregnant, you would think she was used to the bump and the weak bladder and everything that comes with pregnancy but she still hates it. She's having another girl. Her last for a while or so she says. It's weird how Joe's parents are having their sixth grand-daughter. No grand-sons.

"Have you thought of a name yet?", I ask and Demi shrugs.

"We like a lot of names, I like strange names and Joe likes timeless names like Olivia and Eva",

"Strange names?", asks Nick, it's the first I've heard him speak today.

"Yeah, like Phoebe and Jade. Names that aren't heard every single day", she explains

"We did agree on Naomi but then Demi changed her mind", Joe said glaring at Demi

"I'm sorry but I just didn't like it anymore", she moans as she gets up to use the bathroom again. I laugh at their little argument while stroking Bella's hair.

"Well I'm going to get my stuff", I mumble as Joe looks at me weirdly

"Where are you going?", he asks. How can he not know where I'm going? I'm going home. Back to my husband. To see if he's calmed down and to get our marriage back on track. Without letting him know that I cheated on him. And I enjoyed it. And I'd do it again if the opportunity arose.

"Miles I don't like the idea of you going back there", says Joe and I roll my eyes.

"Joe, as much as I hate the place, it's my home. It's where I live with my husband. I can't stay here, you already have Nick as a visitor and I don't want Demi getting clausterphobic",

"Demi get clausterphobic? Do you know Demi? Demi loves when everything is crazy. It gives her something to do", he laughs and I shrug. Demi exits the bathroom again and we catch her up on the conversation.

"Well I'm going to go. Thank you for letting me stay but I have to go back. Have a great day at the zoo and look after my best friend. Thank you", I say quickly. As I go around the table and give the girls hugs before hugging Demi and leaving.

The drive back to my apartment is quiet. Mostly because I've done nothing but think about Nick since I got in the car. Oh Nick. No matter how much I know him, flaws and all, he will forever baffle and amaze me.

I walk slowly to my apartment. I don't want to rush back there, who would?

Ethan's sitting on the couch, watching TV. What's new?

He doesn't even acknowledge that I'm back. He doesn't care where I've been or who I've been with. I go straight to my laptop that's still sitting on the table and scroll through. The page with the bank account is still showing and I drag the mouse to close it but the mouse clicks on statements and a new page opens. The $12,000 receipt is showing, it didn't go to Dylan Harper. It went to Karla James. Who's Karla James?

**Well?**

**Leave a review pleaseeeeeeee? :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Can't decide whether this is filler or not. It progresses the story but it's only short!**

Why is he giving our money to strange women? My mind just can't process this. I thought he lent it to Dylan but instead he's giving some woman our money.

"Ethan, who's Karla?", I shout over to him, he has his back to me and doesn't even bother to turn around as he just shrugs.

"Then why does she have our money?", I ask and his head finally turns to me. He looks unnerved and then mumbles something.

"What? Who is she? Why does she have our money?", I ask walking over to him. How dare he just wave this off like it's no big deal?

"She's Dylan's girlfriend, I had to give the money through her name because Dylan is blacklisted or something", he says louder and it just doesn't make sense, I should care more but I don't want to fight with him. We've done enough fighting in the last 24 hours.

"Can we finally talk about this issue?", I ask quietly sitting on the coffee table in front of him, he's just staring at the TV. He's ignoring me. Why? What have I done that so terrible?

_You slept with Nick. _

"What issue? There's nothing to talk about Miley. We're not having a baby and that's it. This has been enough for you for long enough so it's not going to change just because Demi's having a baby!",

"This isn't about Demi. I want a baby, I want us to be a family. This hasn't been enough for me, this whole marriage has been for your happiness, I've been miserable for five years and you either don't realize it or you don't care. I'm your wife Ethan, it's meant to be about compromise and for five years it's been me doing all the compromising. It's not fair", I cry to him but he doesn't even look at me.

"If you want a baby then you may find someone else to be with and have their baby because a baby is not in any of my future plans",

"I don't want someone else's baby, I want us to have a baby. Why should I throw seven years of a marriage down the drain because you won't give me a baby?",

"Then give up the baby dreaming because it ain't happening. It's me or a baby!", he says and I look at him like he's just given me a swift kick to the stomach. It feels like it too. Why is he doing this?

"The ball's in your court Miley. Me or a baby. I'm not going to change my mind",

"So you want our marriage to end?",

"No but I don't want a baby either",

"So, you married me, knowing that I wanted a family and had me believe that we would have children just to throw it all back in my face?",

"To be honest, I thought the idea would fade. I thought once you saw how happy you and I are in our home then you'd not want a baby to disrupt that",

"Are you out of your mind? Happy? This is us happy? This is a home? This is a fifth floor apartment with a tiny kitchen, a tiny bathroom, two tiny bedrooms and an ugly blue couch THAT I FUCKING HATE!", I lose my temper at the end.

I can't take this no more.

He's offered me an easy way out. He's pretty much told me he doesn't want this marriage anymore.

Well, neither do I.

As much as I want to fight for a marriage that I thought had so much hope left, I haven't got the energy to do it anymore. I'm so sick and tired being the one to compromise. For what? To make his life easier while I'm left being miserable. I always was a people person. Ha. Always.

Not anymore.

I'm sick of being a pushover. I'm not going to compromise for anyone, anymore.

"Well you know where the door is. Pack your stuff, you haven't got the option anymore. I want you out!", he screams back at me.

"Or what? You'll try to strangle me again? Have me held by the throat against the wall again? Would that make you feel better? Do you think that would make me shut up? I let you off with it once, never again!", I snarl at him and he looks unsettled.

He hesitates for a second before grabbing me by the arm and dragging me across the room to the front door and pushes me out into the hallway before slamming the door in my face. I stand there for a second trying to calm my breathing. My heart rate is hitting the roof and my legs are shaking with fear. Or adrenaline. I don't know which but it doesn't feel too good. I grab hold of the doorframe to try and calm down and end up sinking to the floor. I sit for about two minutes before Ethan opens the door again and storms out.

"Get your stuff. I'll be back in an hour, I want you gone by then", he shouts at me before getting in the elevator.

I look at him in shock before getting up and running back into the apartment. I grab my laptop and put it into it's case before heading to the bedroom to pack my stuff. How am I going to take all this stuff with me? I have so many clothes. I have no many belongings and I'm not leaving any here. He'd just dump them. He has no right to dump them but I'm not giving him the option. I grab our two suitcases, leaving him without one and shrug to myself at that realization. I lift whatever I can, throwing a lot of stuff out myself before packing it all in the cases and lifting anything else I have. Jewelry, make up and my perfumes. Where am I putting all of this?

I have stupid stuff that I also need to pack, like my DVD collection, books. Not to mention, that TV he watches constantly was bought by me. I've only been here for thirty minutes so I call Demi and ask her to come over with Joe in seperate cars. That's the only way I'm going to get this done. While waiting for her I pack all the stupid stuff. It might be stupid but it cost me money and... it's mine afterall.

Demi, Joe and Nick all arrive as I'm sorting through the CD's and look at me expectantly.

"What's going on?", asks Demi looking around the apartment.

"I'm leaving him. Well, technically he threw me out. We had a huge argument. I've had enough. I don't love him anymore. I don't think I ever did at all",

"What happened to your arm?", asks Joe as I look down and see the handmark that Ethan left when he grabbed me. I shake my head and disregard his question with a wave of my hand.

"So what's happening? You're leaving?", she asks panicked and I nod.

"I'm not happy here Demi, you know this. I hate his apartment, I hate this life and I hate him",

"Miley, we'd take you in but Joe's starting to decorate the baby's room tomorrow so the spare bed isn't in that room anymore", she panicks even more and Joe holds her shoulder to calm her down.

"Demi, it's fine. I can get a hotel", I say trying to soothe her. I need to work something out. I start back to work in three days and I need a steady home. Or a roof over my head at the very least.

"You can stay with me", Nick says quietly and we all turn to him.

**Short chapter but I thought I'd leave you with another little cliffhanger :)**

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	5. Chapter 5

**Another short chapter! But I thought I'd upload it anyway. **

**Enjoy! :)**

_Yes. Yes yes yes yes yes yes! I'll live with you! _My mind screams at me but I'm just standing in shock. Nick wants me to live with him?

"Is that a good idea?", asks Joe looking from Nick to me.

"Why not? Miley and I are friends, she needs a place to stay and I have a spare bedroom at my apartment. It's either this or she's homeless", he explains and I look at him with adoration. _I love_ you,_ Nick!_

Living with Nick. Oh the things we could get up to.

I've lived with Nick before, it wasn't so bad. But we were a couple back then and Joe and Demi lived with us too. Not to mention anyone that wanted to stay with us or party with us. We were in college, how else can I explain it?

Turns out, Nicks apartment... Wow! It's huge. There are floor to ceiling windows overlooking Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Calabasas and Malibu. I can see the beach from my window. The kitchen is black marble, the dining table is glass and everything is either chrome or marble. It looks like a showhouse. A typical bachelor pad.

"This is your en-suite", he guides me to one of the doors off of my room and I'm looking at paradise.

There is a jacuzzi bathtub. Not just a jacuzzi bathtub, a jacuzzi bathtub that has tiled steps leading up to it to step into it. There's a huge mirror above the white ceramic sinks and a white ceramic toilet over to the side, right beside the huge walk-in shower. He then leads me back out and into the other door.

"Your walk-in closet", he clarifies with a grin on his face. My face drops.

That grin.

_Why Lord, Why?_

"Is it big enough?", he asks as he watches me look around.

Big enough? It's huge! It's almost bigger than my bedroom at that dump I used to share with Ethan. With just over three hundred dresses and many more outfits, not to mention the eight hundred pairs of shoes that I possess. This place will do just fine.

"Yes, it's bigger than I need but thank you. For everything. I don't know where I'd be staying tonight if you weren't here. I hate being on my own at hotels", I mumble.

"I know. I wouldn't let you be in a hotel when there's a spare bedroom here. It's just pointless. You can stay for as long as you want. Just don't go back to him, you're so much better off without him", he smiles as we walk back to the living room.

"Believe me, I'm not going back. Seven years married to him is seven years too long",

"Why did you stay for so long if you hated it?",

"I thought he would change. I thought... I don't even know what I was thinking. I just, I thought we could work through it but he's made it clear that he's not changing his mind and I'm sick of being a pushover. I walked out of that apartment with very little left of my dignity, I couldn't live like that for the rest of my life. I would be insane by the time I'm forty",

"Is this because of the baby thing?", he asks and I shoot my head round to look at him. Thing? Baby thing? It's not a thing? It's an important part of my life, or I hope it will be... one day.

"It's not a thing, Nick",

"You know what I mean. I know how important the baby, marriage and perfect home part of life is for you. It's just unfair that one thing has to end for another to happen", he says quietly.

"I hadn't even thought of it like that. Yeah I guess it is. But I'd rather be a single mother than stay being married to Ethan. I wouldn't want to bring a baby into that relationship",

"So, if he came back to you tomorrow, promising you a baby and a big house in the suburbs, you wouldn't take it?", he questions.

"Not now. He's promised it so many times and each time I believed him. Making a bigger fool of myself", I sigh. We just sit in silence for a few minutes. It's not awkward. It's been a long day and I think silence is just what I need.

"Miley, I'm meant to be meeting a friend about work. Will you be alright?", he asks

"Yeah, you should go, I'm just... I might have a nap or go for a run or something. Please remind me that I have to call a lawyer in the morning",

"Already? Shouldn't you wait a few weeks before filing for divorce?",

"Well no, because I'm not going back. Why should I stay married to him?",

"I was just asking, I don't know how these things work",

"Neither do I", I struggle to say as I sob. I break down there and then. I think the shock has finally ended and now it's grief or relief. I'm not sure.

"Hey hey hey!", he soothes as he comes over to hug me. I literally just fall into his arms to cry. His hands rub my back as I cry in his arms.

"I'm...sor...sorry", I sob as he shushes me. He rocks me back and forth gently and then leans us back so we're lying down on his couch as he strokes my hair while I cry on hsi chest. This is all so messed up. Why are my feelings for Nick coming back? This shouldn't be happening. I just left my husband three hours ago.

"Hey, don't apologize. Listen, I don't have to leave for another ten minutes. If you go a nap, I'll only be gone for an hour tops and then tonight I'll take you out. We'll go for dinner or...",

"Like a date?", I ask and I almost laugh through my tears remembering those three words from all those years ago.

"No, how insensitive would it be to take advantage of you like that? It's just to get you out, to make sure you eat right and to get your mind off of this whole thing",

"And if I wanted it to be a date?", I counter and he looks at me blankly

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	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry this has taken for-ev-er! And it's still pretty short but new chapter will be up over the weekend so I hope that makes up for it!**

"I don't think that would be a great idea Miley. You've only just left Ethan and... how would that look for my bachelor status? Dating a married woman", he jokes and I giggle.

"I've missed you", I grin at him as he strokes my hair.

"Well it's hard not to. Didn't you already know that I'm awesome?", he laughs and I slap his chest.

"Conceited as always, Nicholas", I roll my eyes and he laughs. That beautiful genuine laugh. I've missed it.

"I love that laugh", I mumble quietly and the laughing stops. It's awkward and I'm mortified.

_Don't look him in the eyes! Don't look him in the eyes! Damn it, you just looked him in the eyes!_

He's watching me intently, it's not awkward anymore, it's very intense.

"So, you start back to work on Monday?", he asks quietly. Change of subject! _Yes! You see Nick, this is why I lo... Nevermind._

"Yeah, at least I have the weekend to get my stuff together. My two suitcases and four boxes of clothes, who knew I had that many clothes anyway?", I giggle

"Uh, me! That's actually less clothes than what you had ten years ago, your closet was always like Bloomingdale's. Would you like some help putting them away?",

"Don't you have that meeting thing?",

"I could ditch it, it's just my assistant about plans for the fall but I'll be seeing him at some point this week anyway",

"What's the plans for the fall?",

"I'm opening my own business-type, thing. It's not important",

"I thought you already had your own business",

"No, I was working for Goldman and Strauss, then I got a break when I started free-lancing. It worked out well but from three years ago, it's just been the free-lancing. I made Goldman and Strauss millions of dollars but they took it for granted and I left, Goldman's son was a piece of work and he wanted me out so I left. And because I've been free-lancing, I've built up a archive of customers, loyal customers that refer me to their friends and so forth, so I'm opening my own business. I just need to find the perfect place, that's what my meeting with Frankie was about", he explains and I'm so mesmerized that I only pick up about half of what he's said.

"You hired your little brother as your assistant?",

"Yeah, he needed a job and I needed an assistant", he nods and I laugh.

Working for Nick Jonas is NOT a job I would like to have. Nick has always been so...conscientious. He's not an easy person to please. Especially the older he got. He's never been as easy-going as I am, or as laid-back. He's always set himself rules and guidelines and stuck to them. I think the correct term is anal!

Okay that's mean of me. It's the truth but it's mean. He's not a bad guy, he's just... peculiar. With a serious OCD problem.

"I would not like to be Frankie", I comment and he frowns.

"Miley, as much as you liked to think you were in control throughout our whole relationship, you weren't",

"Yes I was. The first six months of our relationship was you grovelling to me and coming back to me",

"What can I say? I'm not an idiot. How else was I meant to be with you if I couldn't swallow my pride and admit I was wrong. But I'm not talking about that part of the relationship", he smiles and I laugh.

"Of course you're not Nick. But let's remember, the only time you were in control was in bed and even then it was only because I let you", I smirk

"You let me? Babe, you are way off!", he laughs and I stop for a second to think of the 'babe' comment.

"Whatever Nick, you carry on thinking you had the upper hand, you'd be wrong but carry on anyway", I laugh as I get up from the couch and into my bedroom.

"Where are you going?", he asks following me.

"Unpacking, you wanna help?", I smile as I start to open a box. _Shoes shoes and more shoes! Who even wears this many shoes in a lifetime?_

"I remember these", I hear from behind me, we've been sorting my clothes out for just over two hours and Nick is going through my shoes.

He's holding my pink stiletto's. They're not really of any significance to me but obviously Nick likes them.

"How on Earth do you remember those?",

"Paris, Eiffel Tower. You lost an earring in the grass and we spent an hour searching in the dark for an earring that, if I remember correctly, only cost five bucks. Then you complained that your shoes were ruined and I had to carry you on my back while also carrying the shoes, back to the hotel",

"Wow, what a way to make me feel bad. I loved those earrings. Never found it too so I apologize for making you do that",

"Don't apologize, I was just reminding you. Just for laughs", he jokes and I giggle while holding my head in my hands.

"Do you remember this?", I ask holding up my Harley Davison shirt as he smiles and then nods.

This shirt was the shirt I wore while at a waterpark in Spain. As Miley's luck would have it, this is also the unreliable shirt that exposed everything of my while going down a waterslide and everyone within three hundred yards could see me, almost shirtless and mortified. Nick found it hilarious for about three days. Me, not so much.

"Do you remember that time in Japan when you fell over and broke your baby finger?", he laughs and I shake my head, how dare he bring that up? My late teenage years were just days upon days fillled with me hurting myself at one point or another.

"That really hurt, you found that hilarious. I was in actually pain!", I whinge and he laughs evern harder. I feel nineteen again. I don't feel like an adult. I just feel like a lovesick teenager when I'm with Nick.

"It's just the way it happened, you tripped over your own feet, how can I not find that funny?",

"Uh, because I broke a bone?",

"Your baby finger, it heeled in like two weeks!", he laughs

"Still hurt", I huff and he starts laughing even harder.

"What about that time in New Zealand when I almost broke my back, you laughed at that!", he mentions and I gasp. That was pretty funny.

"I only laughed at the start and then I realized you were actually hurt!", I lie, I realized he near broke his back and still laughed when he wasn't looking, it wasn't THAT serious. He was milking it. Plus, it was funny how he fell. His face was priceless.

"Well that really hurt and I need my back more than you need your baby finger", he jokes and I shrug.

"We'll agree to disagree on that situation", I mumble and I hear his laugh.

"Those were some good memories though", he smiles and I nod in agreement. _The best. All my favorite memories are with him._

"I kinda lied, I don't think all my stuff is going to fit in here", I say after another hour of putting my clothes away. With almost every item of my clothing Nick had a memory or comment about it.

"Have you ever tried throwing out half of this stuff? It's a lot of clothes for just one person",

"But I like them", I whine and he laughs.

"We could put them in the spare bedroom but it has all the girls' stuff in it", he says thoughtfully.

"The girls?", I ask, now I'm curious. Who are the girls?

"My daughters", he says quietly. He has daughters? How did I not know this?

**Nick has daughters? *GASP* haha! **

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	7. Chapter 7

**Filler, unfortunately. I have the same problem as last time, I don't want to jump too far into it and it's hard work trying to create drama that can only last 5 seconds to make a story interesting! :( **

**Also, I just wanna say, it's a month later but Miley's hair is not short and blonde in this story. In the pic's I've attached to the title of the story, that's what Niley should look like in this story.**

**Enjoy! Review?**

"Daughters?", I repeat and he hums quietly.

"Like more than one?", I ask dumbfounded. How did I not know that he had daughters? I didn't even know he had one. Not to mention, multiple.

"Yeah, three daughters",

"Three?", I gasp. He has three daughters? How did Demi or Joe never tell me this?

"You seem surprised",

"I am, Demi or Joe never told me. Are you married?",

"No, she was just a long-term girlfriend. She died last year",

"Oh My God! I'm so sorry. So where are your daughters?",

"They're coming. Their nanny is bringing them home from Italy this week. They were visiting Lauren's parents for the Summer",

"So how old are they?", I ask curiously. This is a huge shock. Nick's a father.

"Savannah's six, Skylar is four and Colbie is three. They're great girls, you'll like them",

"I'm sure I will but are you sure you want me here around your daughters?",

"Of course I do, I wouldn't have invited you to stay if I wasn't. They'll love you",

"Okay. I'm just going to go to bed", I say abruptly as I get up from the couch.

He has daughters. Three daughters. Three young daughters. And I'm here in their home and they don't know me. What if they hate me? What if they don't like me being here? In their home.

"Miley, are you okay?",

"I'm fine, I just need to get my head around a few things. Today has been crazy and I'm pretty tired", I smile and he nods and I walk to 'my' room.

Was this really a good idea? I've left my husband of seven years to move in with my ex-boyfriend and his three daughters. This is pretty crazy. I haven't even given much thought to the end of my marriage. Ethan will be home by now. He will be fuming that I've really left him. I'll have to face him sometime though. When we're going to lawyer meetings about our settlement? In the street when I'm walking with Nick and his three daughters? Who knows? I could see Ethan at any time and it's guaranteed that it will be awkward. It won't be an easy situation to deal with. I was married to this man for seven years and in the space of three days, our marriage is over. Gone. Have I done the right thing?

Everything has been happening so fast today that I haven't been able to catch a grip of my emotions. What if being with Ethan was the best that I was ever going to get? What if I spend the rest of my life as a lonely old spinster, I'll still be childless but without a husband.

Just as I'm thinking of all this, Nick knocks on the door.

"Miley, I just wanted to apologize", he mumbles as I open the door.

"For what?", I ask

"For freaking you out. I didn't think you'd panic when I told you about the girls",

"Nick, I'm not panicking because you told me you had daughters, I panicked a little because I don't want your daughters thinking you've moved me in and I'm taking the place of their mother or something crazy like that",

"Miles, you're overthinking it. The girls will love you, they won't think you're taking the place of their mother, they've never had a real mother. They didn't know her, not really. They won't remember her so they won't compare you to their mother or think of you as their mother. You can be cool aunt Miley if you want", he chuckles at the end and I lower my head.

This is too much to think about. At the end of the day, Nick hasn't asked me to raise his kids with him. I'm panicking for nothing but I don't want to be invading their home. You know?

"Listen, get some sleep, we'll talk about it tomorrow if you want. The girls will be here on Wednesday and I don't want you freaking out around them because then they will get scared of you", he tries to joke again but I'm still freaking out a little.

I climb into the bed and as soon as my head hits the pillow, my mind goes back into overdrive. So many questions, so many thoughts. I just can't deal with it all. I have work in the morning, that won't get my mind off of anything. I have to call my lawyer and file for a divorce. That should be fun. I have to tell my family. I have to meet Nick's daughters._ Live with Nick's daughters._ My head is pretty much up my ass right now.

"Miley, what in the world is going on?", my mother's voice screams angrily at me down the phone. I've just got my first day back at work over and now I've to deal with this?

"Mom, I don't know what you've heard but I'd rather speak to you and dad together",

"You left Ethan? Why? Where are you living?",

"I think the legal term is 'Irreconcilable Differences' mom",

"Miley this is not funny. You've left your husband. Do you know what this could do to me?",

"Do to you? What?", I ask climbing into my car and throwing my bag onto the passenger side. What the hell is my mother talking about?

"His mother goes to my church, his father is your father's boss. I have to face them embarrassment of seeing Jane and your father has to work for Edward. Why would you do this to us Miley?",

"I'm sorry, I didn't know the breakdown of MY marriage was going to ruin your reputation mom, I'll just run right back to the husband that refuses to give me a baby and mentally abuses me when I disobey him. Would that make you happier? Would that save your reputation? This is my marriage mom, I don't need you making this about you",

"I still don't see how divorce will work, you can work it out",

"Work it out? We can't work it out. I've tried for five years to do my best for him and it gets a little old when the person you committed your life to is just using you",

"Divorce won't work either",

"I don't want to be married to him anymore, divorce is the only option. I'm talking to my lawyer tomorrow. I want this over as soon as possible",

"I still think you're making a huge mistake. Who are you living with?",

"I'm living with a friend. I'll come to see you some time this week. We can talk it over then",

"Which friend?",

"Mom, it doesn't matter which friend. I'm safe and I'm happy, I'll call you later",

"I'm still not happy about this Miley",

"You have my deepest sympathy on your loss", I say sarcastically and I hear her go to say something else but hang up before she can.

I reach the apartment in twenty minutes, after stopping at the grocery store for some ingredients, I'll make Nick a nice dinner tonight for letting me stay. It's the least I could do. On the way up the elevator while clutching my groceries for dear life, I think about my mom, how could she say all those things? I know she isn't a huge fan of divorce. She's religious and a prudish at the best of times but thinking about her reputation over her daughter's happiness? That's a new low. Doesn't she understand that I was miserable?

I'm still thinking of mu mom when I walk in the door.

"Hey, look who's here?", cheers Nick who's sitting on the couch with three beautiful little girls.

_Oh Crap!_

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	8. Chapter 8

**Another filler, another short chapter. But I'm starting next chapter now. **

**Enjoy :)**

"Hi", I smile hesitantly as Nick walks over to me

"Relax, I told them about you. They love you already", he whispers to me while taking the bags from me.

"Hello", I walk over towards the couch where the three little girls are looking at me. The light brown hair and chocolate coloured eyes are definitely inherited from their father.

"'Ello", smiles the smallest one, Colbie I think her name is.

"Hi, you must be Colbie", I smile as I sit down beside her, the middle girl is smiling at me too and the oldest is a little more wary of me I think. She's a little more timid than the others.

Colbie nods her head profusely at me with a huge grin on her face.

"I'm Skylar, I'm a Princess", the middle girl beams at me and I can't help but giggle as she shakes me hand. A four year old is shaking my hand.

"Wow, a princess? Are your sisters princesses too?", I smile and she shakes her head in distaste.

"Skylar is the diva. Friendly, but still a diva", Nick explains as he walks back into the living room.

"I guess you're Savannah?", I ask the oldest girl and she nods her head without saying a word. She's definitely shy. Whether she's shy in general or just around me is what I want to know.

"Savannah's a little like yourself, she hates change. It'll take a while for her to open up to you", Nick explains later as I'm making dinner. "I'm sorry they got here early, we didn't even have a chance to talk and see if you were okay with everything",

"No please, don't apologize. It's their home more than it is mine. I'm okay. I'm just... well, my mom called...", I start as he nods for me to go on. "... She started to chew my head off about the whole 'Ethan' thing. She's upset about what my divorce or at least the break up will do for her reputation",

"What? And what about how you're feeling?",

"Well yeah, that's what went through my mind but you know my mom, in some areas she's the best person in the world and in others... she just let's herself down. I'm used to it, I'm used to her making situations about herself, it doesn't even bother me anymore except for today. Like a divorce, my divorce and she made it about her. It's not like I'm deciding to get a puppy and she thinks it's a bad idea because that's not a huge life-changing decision but this is a divorce. She made it seem like I was the bad person, you know?",

"Why are you the bad person?", he asks helping me chop the tomatoes.

"I don't know, I never really do with my mom. She can see the best in other people and the worst in me. It's frustrating and I wish I was more laidback about it but she just knows how to push my buttons",

"Yeah I know what you mean. Like you're a full-grown adult and she's still putting you under pressure and making you feel fifteen",

"Exactly. But surprisingly, the girls being here has actually cheered me up. That Skylar is quite a character", I smile and he nods.

"Oh yeah, they all get along very well, she's the bossy one. Savannah is the quiet one, she's sensitive so she just lets Skylar be loud and abrupt and she takes a backseat. Colbie is from a whole new batch of lively. You'll see it yourself, it might take a while for Savannah to let you in, don't take it personally, she's like that with most people. Colbie will be your best friend right away, she talks to anyone. And Skylar, Skylar will be nice as pie to you as long as she's in charge. Just let her think she's in charge and you'll be fine", he smiles and I actually melt as he talks about them.

His babies. Nick being a father is still surprising to me. Not that he's a bad father, he's not. I just didn't expect it. He was always the ambitious one. He was never paternal in any aspect of the word.

"What?", he smiles at me, I've been daydreaming for at least twenty seconds and he can see it.

"Nothing, just the way you talk about them, it's endearing. You've changed a lot",

"Yeah well nine years and three daughters changes a person",

"Not the money then? It hasn't changed you",

"It's changed my life, it's given me and my daughters a better life but no, it hasn't changed me. It's given me nicer things, a nicer car than I probably would've had and other luxuries but it's not everything",

"Yeah, when it's challenged against thing like love and friendship, money's not even worth anything",

"It helps fuel the jet and the yacht though", he jokes and I laugh.

"So girls, how was grandma's? Did you do anything fun?", Nick asks at the dinner table and all three girls turn to look at him.

"I rided a horse. It was black, it smelled bad. Snowflake never smelled like that!", says Skylar and I laugh into my wine. That girl, a little madam. Everything she said was hilarious but she was quite the diva.

"Snowflake is our horse. He lives in the stable, we go see him on a Saturday. He loves me more", Savannah explains turning to me. She's started talking to me in the last hour. She's not as shy as I first thought.

"Wow, does Skylar know that he loves you the most?", I ask her and Savannah shakes her head and I hear Skylar huff.

"He don't love you most, he's my Snowflake. He loves me mostest. He lets me play with his hair", shouts Skylar in protest and I giggle again as Nick watches me with an amused smile on his face.

"NO! My Snowflake", screams Colbie in disagreement. Oh Good Lord, I have started World War 3.

"He loves you all the same. Can we stop shouting now? You're going to scare Miley", chastises Nick and I have to admit... I'm a little aroused. Nick being bossy is a definite turn on.

I smell trouble ahead. Nick and I being together in this house might lead to some serious sexual tension.

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	9. Chapter 9

**Soooo, took ages I know but I was in Spain for a week and couldn't update and this isn't much but there's still drama to come.**

**Enjoy :)**

"Miley, what took you so long?", asks my mom as I turn up at her door, Colbie in tow. These days, Colbie's always in tow. For two weeks I've been constantly attached to Nick's daughters.

"Who owns the kid?", asks Braison as I lift Colbie into my arms. She flashes my family her megawatt smile and I giggle at her. She has her dad's natural charisma.

It's been six weeks since the girls moved into the apartment and within three weeks, I'd grown so emotionally attached I'm starting to worry about myself. I've never felt such a connection to three little girls before in my whole life. Not even to Abby, Katy, Bella or even Demi's new baby, Sophia. Not even to the nieces and nephews that are my blood relatives. But the girls confide in me, they treat me like an aunt or a big sister. We have lots of fun, they help me cook, I help with homework, when Nick's busy I take them out shopping or to the zoo or to the beach, I have so much fun with those three little girls.

"She's a friends', I'm babysitting for a couple of hours", I smile as my mom looks at her weird.

"Mom, what is your problem? Stop staring at her like she's a demon, she's just a child",

"That child looks very familiar. That's not one of Demi's girls, is it?", she asks and I shake my head.

"That's strange, she looks like a Jonas", she says half-heartedly as she turns to walk away and I smirk.

"Actually, she is a Jonas. She's just not Joe's", I smile as I follow her into the lounge and they all turn to me.

"She's Nick's?", asks Brandi and I nod and Colbie copies me and nods too which makes me laugh.

Just then Brandi's daughter Ella comes over to me, she's a year younger than Colbie and she nudges Colbie to go play and they run into the playroom. I hear my nephews in there too. Even Noah had a child before I did. Or two actually. Two boys, they're also Colbie's age but Logan and Mason are a lot quieter than the girls.

"Yeah, she's the youngest. That's who I've been staying with",

"You're staying with Nick?", asks my mom and I can see her temper rising.

She kinda hates Nick. For no reason. She thinks he broke my heart. In a way, he did but not on purpose and not to be malicious. We parted somewhat amicably and we just wanted different things. I'm starting to think that because we seperated and were so far apart, that's why when we saw each other again, it was like our feelings and memories just collided with each other and that's why there was so much tension and chemistry.

"Yeah",

"Miley Ray Cyrus, what the hell are you thinking?", shouts my mother from the couch and I'm physically stunned.

"What? He's the only person that would take me in until I can save money for a deposit on an apartment, I can't do anything until I'm divorced. That's why I'm trying to rush it as much as I can. The papers are at home, I just have to talk to my lawyer one last time before I sign and then just wait until it's over",

"I still don't know why you're divorcing him anyway, he was always good to you. Treated you right, he was wealthy, his reptuation was flawless",

"That's not really a reason to stay married to an abusive, selfish man, Mom",

"What do you mean abusive?", asks Braison and I shake it off.

"Listen, for seven years, I've been married to a man that has refused to give me a baby, has threatened to lift his hand when I've disagreed with him and mentally tortured me. I've tried to make my relationship with Ethan work. I've bit my tongue and I've carried on as if everything is fine but I can't anymore", I cry and Brandi comes over to hug me.

"I don't really need you telling me I should stay married to him. The more time I spend away from him and that repulsive apartment, the more I realize that I don't even think I loved him at all. He was there because I was alone, he was security for me and at the start he was tolerable to be with",

"But think of what this divorce could do for your father's reputation", my mom pleaded and I scowl at her. How dare she?

"You know what? I've changed my mind, I don't think I can stay for dinner. I forgot that I have to go and... well basically get out of here. I can't believe you Mom! I'm going through a messy divorce and all you can think of is if you'll still be invited to Garden Parties and Neighborhood Watch meetings? I don't want to be with Ethan, I don't trust him, I don't like living with him. I don't love him. I'm.. I'm in love wi... Actually it doesn't matter. I'm leaving",

"Miley, Ethan's on his way over. We didn't want to scare you off by telling you that beforehand but he shouldn't be long", my mom stops me in my tracks and I'm frozen. How dare they? Stepping in the middle of my relationship issues to try and fix what can't be fixed.

"You what? What gives you the right to do that?",

"I saw him last week and he said that he hasn't spoken to you and I think if you two just sit down and talk, this can all be resolved", she pleads with me and I feel completely betrayed. She's meant to to be my mother. She's meant to look out for my best interests and instead she's setting me and herself and everyone up for disaster.

"You had no right to do that. So what? You expect me to forgive him and I go back to playing happy families with no family? Ethan couldn't give me what I wanted, he was too busy thinking about himself. You've just made this whole situation ten times worse than it needs to be", I mumble at her and she shakes her head, she doesn't believe that she's done anything wrong. Well she wouldn't, because her way is the lord's way and that's always right, right?

"If you just sit down together...",

"No, mom. No! I'm leaving", I say as I grab my coat from the rack and walk to the playroom to collect Colbie. I can't believe my mother. This is definitey something she would do, I can't believe I didn't see it coming.

The whole drive home I was still shellshocked. She's my mother, why does she treat me like I don't have an opinion or I can't think or myself? It's getting dark by the time Colbie and I make it back to the apartment, Demi's babysitting the other two. I don't know how she does it with six little girls in her house but Demi does love chaos.

Just as I'm getting in the door a hear a girl's laughter and without even thinking I stumble into the living room where Nick is entertaining a tall blonde, he has a girlfriend?


End file.
